SolBids Clean Energy News has followed the ITC Section 201 Solar Trade case since the initial proposal. At the time of our last discussion, the administration was in place to announce the final ruling by January 26th. Three days early, on January 23rd, the President signed the proclamation placing a tariff on imported solar cells and modules for a period of four years. The import tariff, which was implemented February 7th, is set at 30% with a 5% declining rate per year.
A report published in December 2017 by the Department of Energy outlines individual states commitments to modernizing their electricity grids. Modernization is crucial for utilities to integrate new, cleaner, and more efficient technologies. Due to variance in state agendas, some states are preparing better than others to modernize their electricity grids and integrate new and cost effective technologies.
When electrical contractors Todd Hickman and Steve Sgroi first installed solar panels on the roof of Todds own home back in 2011, they did it as a kind-of test, to determine whether the technology would be suitable for their residential and commercial customers. Upon seeing the immediate positive impact the system had on lowering not only Todds personal electric bill, but also on the environment, they were certain solar made sense.
SolBid has provided consistent coverage of the ITC Solar Tariff Case as it has evolved over the past four months. In August, I reported on the proposed solar tariff submitted to the U.S. International Trade Commission by Suniva and SolarWorld America, two U.S. based but majority Chinese and German-owned companies (respectively), to impose a tariff and floor price on imported crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar panels of $0.40/watt and a floor price of $0.78/watt.
Climate scientists have been warning us for decades about the dangerous consequences of climate change. The more frequent and intense storms the United States experienced in 2017, from extreme wildfires on the Pacific coast, to devastating hurricanes in the south/southeast, and now a bombogenesis ravaging the Northeast, have shown us more than ever before that climate change will likely be the greatest global threat our generation faces. Lets take a look back at some of this years major disasters.
Although health is among the most basic of human needs, access to reliable and safe health care is not distributed equally geographically, with displaced populations and many residing in rural areas especially lacking access. About one billion people globally rely on healthcare facilities that lack electricity. Solar energy has the power to change this and to facilitate the process of bringing quality healthcare to vulnerable populations everywhere.
